part of a gorilla

I had to crop my gorilla as he is, like the previous rhino, too large for my scanner. I didn't feel like photographing him as the light is really bad at this time of the evening. He ended up being very colorful, didn't he? He looks much better with the top of his head, I do have to say. I've cropped the tops of other gorillas' heads off before, but this one really needs the top of his head. Poor poor gorilla....

So, I just finally had my dinner at about 7:30. I made lentil soup and some fresh bread. I was really impatient for my first loaf of bread as the soup had been ready since about 2:30. My bread was "done" at 4:00. The problem was that it actually turned out to not be bread, but some sort of compacted, sandy mess. I had added some other ingredients (not in the instructions_) to the mix before I got started and it seems that, in the process, I forgot the water. So, rather than crying over messed up bread, I just made a new loaf. Yes, I had to wait until 7:30 to eat, but it was well worth the wait.

That's all for the tonight. I'm off to movie night at my friend's house.

rhino painting in my pajamas...

This morning I painted a rhino while still in my pajamas. Pajamas are actually good painting clothes as you don't worry so much about getting paint on them, especially the ones that I am wearing now as the pants are my least favorite pajama pants. So, paint may actually improve them. Unfortunately, it seems that I painted clean, so they are still my least favorite pajama pants. This rhino is fairly large (about 12x16), so I couldn't scan him or her. I wanted to work larger than usual and just sort of messily apply the paint, so that's what I did. He actually looks better in person as I had to photograph him with a flash in not the best light. I prefer scanning, even though you can never get a perfect scan either. I decided to leave the graphite elephants in the background, rather than crop them out. So, it's a double (or triple) pachyderm photo. I also used my easel for this painting rather than painting on my lap, so that's a departure.

Other than that, I don't have much to say. It's time for me to get out of my pajamas and get going. Happy Friday everyone.

long time no post...

It's been a few days, hasn't it? I've been slacking. I had a good week, with some socializing, after having been pretty much a prisoner in my apartment while I was waiting for my car to be fixed. So, I wasn't at home all that much, and then when I was at home, I was doing a lot of reading and not a lot of drawing. But I do have this one sketch I did before going to work on Sunday morning. I was sitting on my couch, computing, as I tend to do before going to work, and I suddenly had a flash of a rhino playing a ukulele, so then I had to stop computing, pick up a pencil and sketch it. Unfortunately, my vision of a rhino playing a ukulele was much more interesting than the actually sketch. Then I was inspired to look at a video of an actual person playing a ukulele and found this. He has a whole series of lessons, if you ever want to pick up the ukulele and play along with him. That's all I have for today. I have to get ready for work. I will have to check out others' blogs when I get home tonight as I've piddled away my time and now have to rush. And I see that I spelled ukulele wrong on the sketch. Disregard that...

Just a quick rant...

Doorbell ringing saga continues... More ding dongs today. Asked neighbor why he never has a key. He looks at me sheepishly: "You know how it is. I have to look for it." No, I don't know how it is. I tend to not leave home without my building key. It's kind of essential for opening the door. Oh no--wait, not if the neighbor is home drinking coffee, in her pajamas. Why would one need to look for one's key then?

Upside down, right side up...

I've been having issues with drawing lately. Sometimes it comes easy to me, other times, it is more difficult. It has been the latter, more often than not, lately. So, I decided to take out my favorite and the most famous drawing book that I own, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards, and do one of the exercises from its pages. I have always had plans to make my way through the book in its entirety and do all the exercises, but have never had the discipline. It's always like "oh, I'll do this one--it's more fun. That one seems boring, etc..." I guess if I had had formal training, I would have had to do many exercises that I didn't like, so maybe I should force myself to go through the whole damn book. Or maybe not... Anyway, I chose the upside drawing exercise, which is one of the fun exercises, I think. What it forces you to do is look at the lines and shapes and to copy the drawing without having your brain be so concerned with the subject matter. Yes, it's a person (even though this particular drawing that you're copying is a Picasso, so it is a bit exaggerated or distorted person), but you're looking at it upside down, so it doesn't look as much like a person as it does a collection of lines and shapes. You want your brain to shift from that left mode way of looking at it as person, into the right mode way of looking at it as lines and shapes that connect with each other and fit together, etc... You're supposed to give yourself about 30 to 40 minutes to complete the drawing. Of course, being one that can never fully follow directions, I did it in about 10 minutes, so I don't think I gave myself time to fully make the shift. And there is such a temptation to turn it right side up, just to see if the drawing is looking correct. I resisted, but it drove me a bit crazy. I do think that my upside drawings always end up looking more expressive than my right side up drawings. I guess it's the whole letting go thing at work. Anyway, this is all I have for tonight. Not quite as cute as a rhino in pajamas...

Rhinoceros in Pajamas

Since I heart rhinos and I heart pajamas, of course it was only a matter of time until I combined these two loves. This sketch is actually from about a month ago and I don't know why I haven't posted it yet. If you look closely, you will see the rhino is having a sleepover, but his friend is not wearing pajamas. I don't think birds would like to wear pajamas. They may be too constricting if they need to get up and fly in the middle of the night. Right now it is 11:38 and I am still wearing my pajamas. Unfortunately, it's just about time for me to get out of them and get ready for work. Do I have time for oatmeal this morning? I don't think so as I want to piddle around on the computer, in my pajamas for a bit longer. I guess I'll just have to go to work hungry. The sacrifices one makes to hang out in one's pajamas for just a little bit longer...

Oh, and jb, I didn't change my settings. I don't know why it is doing that...

Giraffe sketch and E.T.

So, I often think that I don't actually see something until I try to draw it. I found that to be the case with giraffes. I have only drawn one other giraffe and that was in profile. Observing one straight on and trying to duplicate him/her (I can't tell) I was struck by a certain resemblance to E.T. of cinematic fame. See below.



Note the long neck and the gigantic eyes. Yes, I know that aliens traditionally have gigantic eyes, but there is just something similar between these two. I have always noticed giraffes' huge eyes with long, mascaraed eyelashes, but it wasn't until I had the shape of the head sketched in with the eyes, that I noticed the resemblance to E.T.. I do think that when people are creating creatures that they must be inspired by nature. Obviously we have these images floating around in our heads and when we are creating something, we are going to draw from that inner library, but I do feel that it's often conscious. I don't create creatures for a living nor have I ever really listened to people talk about creating creatures, but I just have a feeling that maybe the person or people creating E.T. could have possibly had a giraffe photo tagged up on their bulletin board. And I could be totally wrong...

On a related note, I do think that the person/people creating Shrek were partially inspired by rhinos. I mean, just look at these ears and compare.

Pelican in watercolor

Well, I tried. I didn't like the paper. It didn't absorb the color very well. All watercolor paper is not created equal. Anyway, I was digging in my art supply drawers last night and found some inks that I had bought ages ago and have never used. They look like this and I'm not even sure if they make them anymore. Each box and the ink bottle inside have a little painting on them and they're like little works of art themselves. Like I said, I've had them for years, and fortunately, they still seem to be good, so I'm going to try them. You're supposed to use them with distilled water, so I went and bought a bottle this morning. It's great to have my car back! I actually painted my pelican on my drafting table. I haven't used my table in ages as it usually has a cat bed and a cat on it. I just thought this morning, as the cats were in hiding anyway (yes, I vacuumed), that I would take back my table for the time being. One of the cats came out of hiding while I was working and just sort of looked at me and then plopped down on my spot on the couch. It was like "you took my spot, so I'm going to take your spot."

Edited to add that I'm baking more bread. This one is honey wheat with Craisins. I wish it would hurry up and get baked!

Edited again to ask what you think of my new blog template? I was getting tired of the old one. I do see that I should make a new banner that will fit the template, but for now I'm going to keep the old one. And I would like to change the name of my blog, as well. I was just being silly when I created this one. I'm just trying to come up with a good name.

Pelican sketch

Tonight I sketched a pelican because I wanted to look at a pelican and see it as it's supposed to look. I keep seeing these oil coated pelicans on the news and it makes me too sad. I may have to do an actual drawing or painting of one, just because I would like to interpret their rather funny looking beauty in something more developed than this sketchbook sketch. This is a brown pelican which is actually Louisiana's state bird, so it is what we have been seeing on the news. I've gotten to the point that when these images show up on my t.v., I have to turn the channel or better yet, turn it off.

Sarge sketch

I am going to be drawing this dog as a gift for a friend. I haven't decided what medium I'm going to use, but I did a quick charcoal sketch today. I think charcoal is a good choice for a black lab, but I don't have a good grasp on charcoal. I'm leaning towards colored pencil or graphite. I didn't quite have his proportions right here in this charcoal sketch, but it's actually a good likeness, considering the fact that I just spent a short time on it. And no, not all black labs look alike. Their faces are all different.

I don't have much to say today, no Van Gogh quotes or odes to olives or anything else that could make this post more interesting. And what is interesting anyway? All of that is subjective, right? Although I think it's easy to see what is not interesting and probably this post would fit into this category. But that's o.k.--we can't all be interesting all the time. I think if all of a persons' blog posts were interesting I would be suspicious or think that that person was trying too hard. I don't want to try too hard. There's nothing worse than forced writing, I think. So, blah blah blah. Here ends my uninteresting post...

I love olives

I did this sketch this morning before work. Don't ask me why olives and Ella Fitzgerald singing a song about them inspired by Cole Porter's "I Love Paris" were on my mind at 7:30 AM, but they were. I just started with the olives, but everything else just sort of asked to be included. I had no say in the matter. And after work, I was still thinking about olives, so I ordered an olive pizza and was, unfortunately, very disappointed. I love olive pizza, but this was all soggy and they just threw a huge pile of olives on the surface and it was just not pleasant pizza. You have to be a bit more subtle with the olives on pizza. In fact, I made my own perfect olive pizza last week with just a frozen cheese pizza with some strategically placed olives and it was 10,000 times better than this one.

A little crooked corner of the Louvre sketch, inspired by Vincent...

Well, sort of... I think Vincent (as in VanGogh) was more into organic shapes like I am. We don't see very many buildings in Vincent's collection. But, I know he liked to try different things. One of the great things about working in a library, is that you just come across things in the course of your daily work--as in tidbits of information, pictures, charming little children's books, etc... Sometimes you just open the page of a book to stick a slip inside, and something catches your eye. In my case, it was a quote by Vincent (yes, we are on a first name basis). The quote reads: "I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it." Very simple and to the point, yet very inspiring. I sort of get annoyed by a lot of quotes that are supposed to be inspiring, the kind that people have hanging on their walls, as they're sort of rah rah cheerleaderish or too sentimental for my taste, but this one is subtle and yet it says so much. So, thanks Vincent, you inspired me to do a sketch of a building. Now, it's not a very good sketch and I just eyeballed the perspective, but it got me to do something that I don't know how to do. Anne the "I can't draw buildings" artist, sketched a building. I do have to laugh at my lamp post as it is especially crooked. I think it looks a bit like a twig rather than a lamp post, but I was just sketching. I think most people that draw a lot of buildings and straight lined shapes will actually use a ruler or straight edge of some sort.

Edited to add, I just wanted to take the time out as I don't usually reply to replies unless someone asks a question, to thank people for the nice comments about my drawings. So, thank you blog buddies!

Bassett in the rain

No, the basset hound is not sitting in the rain--he was just painted in the rain (inside, of course) with watercolors. So, he was created in a context of wetness. He is dry now, obviously, or he wouldn't be scanned yet, but it is still very wet outside. I don't really have time for a proper post as I have to start getting ready for work. My morning flew by quickly, with watercolors, rain, washing clothes and coffee. I scarcely even remember getting up.

Edited to add, that I realize that I spelled "Basset" wrong in my last post. I wonder why spell checker didn't correct me. I thought I had checked on the spelling. So, it is spelled wrong on the actual sketch, as well.

Do your ears hang low?

How strange it would be to have ears so long that they sweep across your knee... Fortunately mine don't and unless you are a Bassett Hound reading my blog, I doubt yours do either. And really, I highly doubt a Bassett Hound would be reading my blog. I don't think they usually get much computer time and they have a spot on that same list in which the bulldogs were featured (you know the one--10 least smart dogs), so I doubt they even know how to read. And do they really have knees, anyway? So, my question was, in fact, a fruitless question as I know that none of my readers' ears hang low and brush across their knees. Now before I go on for 5000 words about low hanging ears, I will change the subject. The drawing was another quick sketch to get me loosened up. No erasing. I kind of like how this guy (or girl) turned out, low hanging ears and all.

It is Monday and it was a very Mondayish Monday, so I'm glad that it's almost over. I'm hoping that Tuesday will be a bit less frantic. My feet hurt. Hopefully, Tuesday will be the day that is gentle on my feet. That means that I should be sitting down a lot and shouldn't be wearing shoes. We'll see how that works out. Anyway, I don't have much more to say, other than the fact that I made bread last night (well, my bread machine did most of the work) and I'm pleased with the way that it turned out. I'm already thinking about my next batch and the fact that I would like to add dried cranberries to the mix. As much as I want to put that together right now (well, not really as it takes over 4 hours and I'm much too tired to wait), I will have to wait until this loaf has been consumed.

Loosening up with Bulldog Bob

Yesterday was drawing day. You know that day that comes around every year when artists are supposed to clog up the Internet with a million drawings... In the past, I've probably done 4 of 5 drawings on drawing day. Yesterday I only did one. Well, two if you count the gorilla which I decided to post as a drawing day drawing, even though I drew it a day earlier. Anyway, part of my problem was, I just couldn't draw. All my attempts were too uptight and I got frustrated and put my pencils away early in the day. So, this morning, here comes Bulldog Bob to the rescue. Bulldog Bog is very loose. He doesn't think too much (in fact, the photo I used came from a website listing the 10 least intelligent dog breeds--poor Bulldog Bob;))and he knows how to go with the flow. Sketching is a good way to just let go and stop worrying about the lines being perfectly placed. Sometimes not having the erase option is a good thing.

I do, however, wish I had the erase option for work today. It would be good to just go up to the building and erase it for the day, so I could stay home on Sunday like the rest of the population.

cross-eyed gorilla

Yes, my gorilla is a bit cross-eyed or as the British would say, boss-eyed (I don't know why). It's o.k. that he is a bit boss-eyed, I think. I'll accept him that way. I spent a chunk of the afternoon working on him and didn't notice that his eyes were a bit off until after I scanned him. That's often how it goes. Drawing is all about creating an illusion on paper and sometimes one's eyes create an illusion and think that things are o.k. until one looks at it from a different perspective. I was hanging over the drawing, just inches away, because one of my glasses screws fell out, so I was drawing sans glasses. It's an easy fix. I just need to take them in or get a screw and fix them myself. I just haven't done that yet. They stay on fine if I'm not tilting my head downward. Most people think you should draw with the paper upright anyway, but I always draw on my lap. I think it's easier to get things right when you draw upright. Maybe I should use my drawing board or easel, at least until my glasses are fixed. Maybe if I do that, I'll never go back to lap drawing.

One of my neighbors was ringing my doorbell at 10:00 this morning. I was still in my pajamas and ignored it for awhile, but eventually went to check outside. When I checked, I didn't see anyone. About an hour later, the bell rang again. This time he was out there. I felt bad as he wasn't associated with the usual doorbell ringer suspects. He had just forgotten his key for the outside door. He ended up sitting outside for that hour. That's what happens though--there's someone that abuses a situation and then screws things up for other people. It's the whole boy that cried wolf thing. Too bad...

Oh, I might add that this is my first Friday without stretching class. As I mentioned in an earlier post, stretching class is on hiatus for the summer. And as I said before, I guess stretching is not a summer activity. I think I need to dust off one of my yoga tapes and do some stretching on my own when I'm done here, especially since my neck is now a bit stiff from having to dangle over the cross-eyed gorilla. O.K., time to sign off and stretch...

An eggplant?

Yes, I drew an eggplant. I found a little 5x7 tablet of Stonehenge brand paper while I was cleaning. This type of paper is great for colored pencil drawings, so I thought I'd start one. I think this tiny tablet is good for colored pencil as it makes you work small and then you can actually consider finishing a colored pencil drawing. Otherwise they take 100 years. This one has taken a couple of hours, so far.

Other than this, I don't have much to say this evening, other than the fact that the weather is fabulous. There's a cool breeze flowing through the windows right now. I have been missing cool breezes during this ridiculously warm spring. And I should say that I'm not craving eggplant. I think if I were drawing an avocado, a lemon, an orange, a kiwi, a banana, a pepper, a mango, a pomegranate, some grapes, etc. I would have been craving the subject. While I don't hate eggplant, I can take them or leave them. I do like how they look though.